She’s come a long way! Hailee Steinfeld has grown up in the public eye nabbing roles in movies like True Grit, Pitch Perfect before becoming a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In November 2021, the actress made her debut as Kate Bishop in the Disney+ series Hawkeye.
“It’s really a privilege to be able to play a character that could in any way possibly inspire anyone,” she told Variety ahead of the show’s premiere. “Kate Bishop is a character that I would have loved to have had growing up — somebody who is completely ambitious, driven and disciplined, and takes it upon herself to do whatever it is she has to do to achieve her goals. I am very excited for people to meet her.”
Over the years, Hailee herself has become a role model to her fans. In 2011, she was nominated for an Oscar and has since fulfilled her dream of becoming a singer. The California native released her debut EP, Half Written Story, in May 2020.
“Toward the beginning of the pandemic, I released that EP and was very proud because I felt like I had articulated this pain I was feeling that at one point, I felt like I couldn’t put into words,” she told Cosmopolitan in November 2021. “What I was going through was like, ‘I don’t wanna talk about this. I don’t want people to know.’ I felt that all I had to do was write it and then nothing had to happen after that if I didn’t want it to. I had my little angry, sad girl moment. That was kind of all I needed to get back on track to make music that makes me want to dance and feel good.”
Not to mention, the actress has been dubbed a “gay icon” by Dickinson viewers. Her Apple TV+ show about famed poet Emily Dickinson came to an end in November 20121 after three seasons.
“It feels pretty amazing to be part of a show that makes people feel like they can fight against whatever box anybody is trying to put them in and to play a character who was so unapologetically herself during a time when being who you are was wildly unacceptable,” Hailee told Cosmopolitan. “There was one path that women were supposed to take, and she was running in the opposite direction. I just love that about her.”
Going forward, Hailee has a lot of plans for the future.
“I’m in a place right now where I’m pretty sure I know what I want for me, in relationships, work, and life in general,” she gushed. “So, that’s what I’m after. I’m painting the picture of what all that looks like.”
Scroll through our gallery to see Hailee’s complete transformation over the years.
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